Nosferatu
by Zombie
Summary: Crichton and Aeryn have to infiltrate a new enemy base to save Crais, but they discover some surprises along the way... r&r, please!
1. Infiltration

Note : Obviously, the characters I made up are mine, but other than that, all other things in here are property of the fine folk responsible for the show Farscape. Also, I posted the first two chapters on fanfiction.net before, only to remove them because I didn't think I was going to bother finishing it. This will probably seem out of place soon compared to the rest of season three, so I've just not bothered with a few of the plot twists in the series, and obviously there's gonna be one absent member (not naming yet in case you don't know who it is) on account of a slight case of death. Please read and, if you like it, review. Here's my story...  
  
FARSCAPE:  
NOSFERATU  
  
Crichton walked out of his quarters and headed down one of Moya's many corridors, towards Command. D'Argo was there. "Yo!" Crichton said. D'Argo spun round, he hadn't realized Crichton was awake.  
"Yo..." D'Argo replied slowly, wondering what the hell that meant. Crichton rubbed his face and head.  
"What happened? My head is killing me." he stated. D'Argo was even more confused.  
"You ate to much of that fanjato and we had to carry you back to your quarters." D'Argo told him. "But it shouldn't have any fatal effects." Crichton looked at him, remembered what he'd said, and walked across Command.  
"Great. I got pissed. That's all you needed to say. I didn't throw up or anything, did I?"  
"Huh?"  
"You know, be sick?" He mimicked himself throwing up, then gave up. "Don't worry, if I did I'll find it in my bed or something. Where is everyone?"  
"They're still asleep." D'Argo told him. Crichton smiled to himself.  
"At least I'm not the last one up." As he said that, Aeryn walked into Command. She didn't look any different. Crichton looked at her, puzzled. She noticed.  
"What?" she asked him in her 'no-nonsense' way.  
"Does your head hurt, or any other part, at all?" he asked.  
"No, why?" she answered with another question.  
"Didn't you have any of that fanjino or whatever it's called?"  
"Fanjato." Aeryn corrected him. "Yes. But why should my head hurt?"  
"Mine does. It's a hangover sort of thing."  
"Well, whatever it is you're talking about, I have no idea." Pilot suddenly appeared on the holographic projector.  
"Moya has detected Talyn, he is nearby. And approaching us." he said.  
"How long until they get here?" Crichton asked.  
"Talyn will be hear in one arn. But Crais is not aboard." Pilot told him. Crichton looked at Aeryn.  
"Well, that doesn't sound right." he stated.  
"Is there anyone aboard Talyn?" D'Argo asked.  
"No." Pilot replied. They all headed down to the transport bay. Crichton walked next to Aeryn.  
"What's Crais up to now?" he asked. She shook her head.  
"I have no idea." she answered.  
  
They got to the transport bay, and Crichton and Aeryn got into a transport pod. Aeryn started it up, and flew it towards Talyn's destination.  
They reached him, and boarded. They walked into the smaller Leviathan's Command. They looked around. No Crais. Crichton spoke into his com-link. "There's no sign of Crais. Talyn said anything to Pilot about his whereabouts?"  
"Yes," Pilot answered. "Talyn says that Crais was captured by a military group, but Talyn managed to escape."  
"Great," Crichton said to Aeryn. "Peacekeepers got him."  
"No, not Peacekeepers." Pilot said. "Talyn says that it was a different group. Even Crais hadn't ever seen them or heard of them before."  
"Another group? Oh, good. At least the Peacekeepers aren't alone." Crichton said sarcastically.  
Pilot continued telling them what the small ship was saying. "He says he wants us to help Crais escape." Crichton looked at Aeryn.  
"How can we help?" Aeryn asked.  
"He'll take us to the ship he's being held on." Pilot answered. Aeryn nodded.  
"OK. Me and Crichton will stay aboard Talyn until we get there." She turned her com-link off. Crichton did the same.  
"What? We're gonna bust Crais out of a ship, which belongs to an organization similar to Peacekeepers?" he asked. "Why?"  
"Talyn wants us to. Crais hasn't used him as a weapon of destruction, so he's kept his promise." she told him.  
"But why should we risk our own asses for someone who tried to kill us? Me especially."  
"Because Talyn wants Crais back. He's obviously grown a bond with him. If we break that bond, Talyn could get angry." Crichton shrugged.  
"Fair enough. It'll be a change of scenery, anyway." he said. "Lead the way!" he said to Talyn.  
  
Crais sat in his dark, cold prison cell. He'd been there for hell knows how long. He'd memorized every line, every shade of his cell. There was nothing to do. He was bored senseless. He laid on the flat metal sheet, covered in material. His bed. He listened to the silence.  
The knocking of his cell's metal door startled him. He spun round, and the door opened. Two guards aimed there weapons at Crais. "Follow us." the first one ordered. Crais thought it best not to argue. He stood up, and walked out of his 'home'.   
  
Talyn suddenly stopped. The suddenness made both Crichton and Aeryn loose there balance and fall over. Crichton looked around. "What the hell?"  
"Pilot, what's happening?" Aeryn asked through the com-link.  
"Talyn refuses to go any further," Pilot answered. Crichton stood up.  
"How the hell are we supposed to save Crais if Talyn won't take us to him?" he asked.  
"He says that he can't risk gong any closer to the ship." Crichton looked into space, and saw nothing.  
"What ship? Where is it?" he asked.  
"Talyn says that a garbage vessel is soon arriving. He suggests you get on board that way." Pilot told him.  
"We're on our way." Aeryn said. They walked to their transport.  
"I love this job." Crichton said sarcastically to Aeryn. They got inside the transport, and set off towards the garbage ship.  
  
The crew on board Moya heard what was going on. "We're not letting them go by themselves, are we?" D'Argo asked to everyone.  
"I'm not going." Rygel told him.  
"I knew you wouldn't." D'Argo said.  
"The other transport's broken. It's being repaired. So we can't go with them." Chiana reminded him. He slammed his fist onto the table.  
"It's suicide if they go alone!" he protested.  
"They'll be fine." Chiana told him. "Crichton and Aeryn are good at surviving, remember?" D'Argo slowly agreed.  
"OK, you're right. But when that transport's repaired I'm going to help them."  
  
The transport reached the garbage vessel, and floated near to it. "OK, now what?" Crichton asked. Aeryn looked at the ship.  
"We can't land this thing on it." she told him. "I can get close to that airlock, then set the autopilot on to return this thing to Moya, while we open and climb in the ship."  
"Piece of cake." Crichton told her, knowing they'd probably end up dead. Aeryn flew their ship as close to the airlock as possible.  
"Put your suit on, Crichton." Aeryn reminded him. Crichton had already got into it, and put his helmet on.  
"I'm not stupid, you know." he told her as she put her's on.  
"You fooled me." she said back. Crichton opened his mouth to send back a remark, but couldn't think of one suitable enough. "Right, let's go." Aeryn said. She opened the airlock on the transport, and Crichton floated out. Aeryn hit the autopilot button, then got out of the transport. Crichton was at the airlock of the garbage ship. Aeryn helped him open it, and they finally got inside the garbage ship. They closed the door, and felt a violent explosion outside. Crichton looked at Aeryn, who looked back at him.  
"That wasn't what I thought it was, was it?" he asked.  
"Frelling autopilot!" she murmured.  
  
"What is it, Pilot?" D'Argo asked, after Pilot told them he had some bad news.  
"Aeryn and Crichton's transport ship has been destroyed. I've lost contact with them altogether." he said. His words cut through the whole crew. They didn't know what to do. Even Rygel was speechless.  
  
Crichton had finished looking around the ship. Nobody else was aboard. It's computer piloted it to it's destination. He looked around for Aeryn. "Found anyone?"  
"No." came her voice. "There's no-one here." Crichton spotted her, and walked over to her. She pointed at the side of the ship. "The garbage will be let into this ship through there. When it stops filing, we'll have to get through the tunnel before the hatch closes. We'll have a few microns to get in, so don't stall."  
"No problem." Crichton answered. "Then all we gotta do is find Crais, get him and us off the ship, and not get our asses killed in the process."  
"Sound's fine to me." Aeryn said.  
The garbage ship suddenly jolted, and the two knew it had reached it's destination. They got either side of the hatch, and it opened. The ship's rubbish flew through the hatch, landing in the garbage vessel. It stunk like hell. It suddenly stopped, and both Crichton and Aeryn leapt through the hatch, and it closed just as Aeryn's boot had managed to get inside the vent. Crichton looked at Aeryn to see if she was all right. She was.  
"Er, now what?" Crichton asked. Aeryn looked around. She saw an air vent above them, in the tunnel. She pointed at it.  
"Help me up there." she asked him. He looked at the air vent.   
"How do I get up there, though?" he asked.  
"I'll pull you up." she said. He decided to give it a shot, and knelt in front of the vent. Aeryn stood on his back, and pulled herself up. She stuck her legs into the vent first, then reached down to Crichton. He jumped up and caught her hand. She managed to pull him up, into the vent.  
"Damn, you're strong." he told her amazed. Aeryn suddenly realized the vent was to small to turn around.  
"I can't turn around." she said. Crichton peered past her.  
"I'll tell you where we're going." he said. Aeryn started crawling backwards, and Crichton followed, looking over her shoulder to see where they were going.  
  
Crais woke up as the guards returned. They opened the door, and picked him up. They dragged him out of the cell, down a corridor. He looked at the guard to his right. "What now?" he asked.  
"More tests. Shut up." the guard told him. They reached the lab, and they laid Crais on a table. Metal restraints gripped Crais' wrists and legs. He looked around frantically. He saw a scientist walk up to him. He had a mechanical device in his hand.  
"Wh... What's that?" Crais asked. The scientist didn't answer. Instead, he pressed it into Crais' chest. Crais felt a sudden, sharp pain. He cried out loudly, then the pain was gone. Crais groaned, not able to speak any real words. He felt the restraints loosen, then the guards dragged him back to his cell.  
  
Aeryn had found a crossway in the vents, and she had managed to turn around. She soon found a vent cover. She peered through it. "What is it?" Crichton asked quietly. Aeryn stared at it.  
"I don't know." It was unlike anything she'd ever seen before. It was chained to the wall in what looked like a cell. "I think this is a prison." she told Crichton, then gently crawled over the cover. Crichton looked down into the cell, then carried on following Aeryn through the vents.  
She finally came to the end of the vent. She peered through. The corridor was deserted. "It's clear." she said, then pushed the cover. It came of the vent easily, and she crawled out. Crichton followed. He stood up and looked around.  
"He could be anywhere. We don't even know how big this ship is." he said, doubtfully. Suddenly Aeryn heard something. She opened a door next to them and shoved Crichton through it, followed by herself. She closed the door, but left a gap to see what was going on. She saw two sebaccien scientists walk down the corridor. They walked past the door, and Aeryn suddenly burst out, grabbed them both and dragged them into the room. She threw them on the floor, next to Crichton. They looked at them both as Aeryn held her gun at them.  
"Don't say a word." she ordered. Crichton looked at her.  
"What are you doing?" he asked, bewildered.  
"Take off your clothes." she told the scientists, ignoring Crichton.  
"Aeryn, we don't have time for this." Crichton protested. She looked at him, unamused.  
"If we don't want to be found, we'll have to look like part of the crew. Now, put on their clothes." she answered. He took them, and then looked at Aeryn again.  
"I don't think these are my size."  
  
Aeryn peered out of the door, then walked out. Crichton followed. They were wearing the scientists' clothes. Crichton closed the door, both of them looking around. There was no-one in the area, so they walked down the corridor.  
They reached a group of guards standing at a door to another corridor. Aeryn walked over to them. "Do you know where the prisoner brought in recently is?" she asked. They looked at her.  
"Which one?" asked the first guard.  
"Someone called Crais. Ex-Peacekeeper commander." Crichton told them. A spark of recognition appeared on the second guard's face.  
"Oh, Crais. He was a Peacekeeper commander?"  
"Yeah." Crichton answered. "Pretty smart, huh?"  
"Where is he?" Aeryn asked quickly.  
"Level 6, cell 74." answered the first. She nodded, and walked down the next corridor. Crichton followed. He made sure they were out of the guards' earshot until he spoke to Aeryn.  
"They didn't know Crais is a Peacekeeper. Why did they take him prisoner?" he asked, quietly.  
"I don't know, but we're sure to find out." she replied.  
"Yeah, but I don't really want to find out, do you?"  
"No."  
"It's settled then. We get Crais, bust him out, don't stop to ask questions."  
"That's the first good plan you've come up with in ages, Crichton."  
"Thank you."  
  
Crichton and Aeryn reached level 6, and walked past the cells. Crichton quietly repeated the number over and over. "74, 74, 74... Aha, found it. 74." he said to Aeryn.  
"Good. You'd have thought there'd have been at least one guard on this level, wouldn't you?" she asked. Crichton nodded.  
"Lucky for us, there isn't." He looked through the small gap, used for passing food through. The cell was empty. "Room service." Crichton called through the gap, thinking Crais was hiding.  
"Don't move." came a voice behind them. They turned around to see a guard aiming a weapon at them. "I said don't move!" Aeryn suddenly kicked the weapon from his hands, punched him in the face and snapped his neck. Crichton looked at Aeryn.  
"Where'd you learn to fight like that?" he asked. Aeryn smiled.  
"Practicing for when you keep annoying me." she told him.  
"That hurts. I don't annoy you, do I?"  
"Not really. That's why I haven't killed you yet."  
"I better not piss you off, then." Crichton's attention suddenly diverted, and he dived into Aeryn, knocking them to the ground. Before Aeryn could ask what he was doing, an energy bolt smashed into the wall next to where they'd been standing, blowing a large hole in the thick metal. Crichton pulled out his gun from it's holster and shot the guard who was preparing to fire again.  
Aeryn looked at the guard, then at Crichton. "Er, thanks." she said. Crichton looked at her again.  
"I bet that took a lot of strength. Since when have you said that before?" Crichton asked.  
"I haven't done it often. I've never had to." Aeryn replied. "Anyway, we'd better find Crais."  
"How? He's not in his cell." Aeryn picked up the weapon left by the guard. She looked at it.  
"I've never seen anything like this before." she said, looking at the gun from all angles. They both heard a loud crashing sound from down the corridor. They spun round as alarms rang out, almost deafening them. They looked at the door to one of the cells fly away from it's hinges, smashing into the wall opposite. Aeryn aimed her new weapon down the corridor, waiting for whatever was in the cell to emerge. It did so.  
"What the hell is that thing?" Crichton asked, ready to run as far away as possible. He looked at the creature. It was covered in green skin, and about double the size of himself. Tattered pieces of clothing covered the creature, and it noticed the two intruders. It roared at them, showing it's razor-like teeth. The pitch of the roar was high.  
The creature started walking towards them. "Shoot it!" Crichton said to Aeryn. He found out he couldn't run.  
"I can't work this frelling thing!" she shouted back, frantically trying to use the weapon. The creature was now halfway down the corridor, and gaining. Crichton pulled his gun out.  
"Frell this." he said to himself, and fired repeatedly into the creature's body. Pieces of it's flesh tore apart, thick, purple-red blood spraying the walls, but the creature carried on towards them. "Oh, shit..." Crichton murmured as the creature lunged through the air at them, swinging it's claw wildly at them. 


	2. From Bad to Worse

As the creature swung it's claw at Crichton, the gun Aeryn had found suddenly fired. The recoil almost knocked her off her feet, and the energy bolt tore the creature apart. Pieces of it's flesh and bone splattered all over the walls, floor, Crichton and Aeryn. "Damn..." Crichton whispered, looking at the tiny pieces.  
"I've figured this thing out." Aeryn said casually.  
"I can see that." Crichton responded. "What the frell was that?"  
"I've never heard of any creature like that before." replied the sebaccien.  
"Let's go." Crichton said, remembering the alarms going off.  
"Where are we going?" Aeryn asked. Crichton walked down the corridor.  
"When we get there, I'll let you know."  
  
As Crais was about to be injected yet again, an alarm went off. The guards had suddenly vanished, probably to find out what was going on. Crais was alone with the scientist now. The scientist was about to inject Crais when he grabbed his arm. Crais grabbed the syringe and stabbed the scientist in the forehead with it, injecting the liquid into his brain. The scientist dropped to the floor, dead. Crais got up off the table and ran out of the room.  
  
"Oh, for Christ's sake..." Crichton moaned as they walked down yet another identical corridor. "How the frell are we gonna find our way around this place if it all looks the same?"  
"Don't worry. I've got a good memory." Aeryn told him.  
"Hope so. Where're we going?"  
"I thought you were leading."  
"Then we'll turn right."  
"I think left."  
"Well, we can't divide."  
"We can split up. Cover more ground."  
"Frell that. We'll stick together." Crichton looked left and right. "So, which way?"  
"Left."  
"Left it is." Crichton walked down the corridor to their left, followed by Aeryn. He looked to the end of the corridor, when someone slowly walked round the corner. "Oh, shit..." Crichton said, raising his gun. Scorpius continued walking towards him.  
"What are you doing, Crichton?" he said, not stopping walking. But the voice wasn't his. It was Aeryn's. Crichton felt something hit his arm, and looked at Aeryn.  
"I said, what are you doing?" she asked. Crichton blinked, then looked down the corridor again. Scorpius was gone. Crichton shook his head.  
"Oh. Nothing. Thought I saw someone." he answered.  
"Well, there's nobody there, but there will be if you're going to shoot at imaginary people." Aeryn told him. "John, are you alright?" Crichton shook his head.  
"It was Scorpy." he answered bluntly. Aeryn took his hand in her's.  
"It can't have been. It's just your imagination." she told him.  
"I know that, but there too real." Crichton explained. "One day, when we meet up with him again, I'm not gonna be able to tell the difference."  
"We'll worry about that when it happens." Aeryn told him. "But right now, we've gotta be quick" Crichton nodded, realizing she was right. They let go of each other's hands, and continued on their search.  
  
"Have you managed to contact them yet?" D'Argo asked.  
"No." Pilot replied. "When their transport crashed, I lost all communication."  
"I refuse to think they're dead." D'Argo said. Chiana walked up behind him.  
"It is possible, though." she said, almost whispering.  
"We'll wait for them. We'll stay here at least two solar days. After that, we'll see." D'Argo said, almost ordering. Nobody argued.  
  
Crichton and Aeryn turned the corner, almost bumping into two guards. "Woah, what's your hurry?" Crichton asked.  
"Some prisoners have escaped. You two better find somewhere safe. It could get nasty." the first guard told him.  
"No problem." Crichton replied, and the two guards ran down the corridor. Crichton looked at Aeryn. "This ain't good." he said.  
"Good observation." she answered. "There could be a few of those things running around this ship."  
"Let's hope we don't meet up with any." Crichton told her. She nodded, and they ran down the corridor.  
  
Crais ran down a corridor. There were no doors anywhere, and alarms were echoing throughout the ship. He spotted two guards down the end of the corridor. "Frell..." he murmured as the guards fired at him. The shots smashed into the walls next to Crais, but missed him as he dived round a corner. He ran down the new corridor repeating the word "Frell" over and over again.  
Crais ran round a corner and crashed into something big. He fell to the ground and looked at his obstacle. It looked down at him. "Frellfrellfrellfrell..." he muttered. The creature was huge, with a clawed hand, big teeth, and generally was an ugly bastard. It was about to attack him when part of it's face exploded outwards. The creature fell down next to Crais, and he looked down the corridor. Crichton and Aeryn ran towards him. Crichton helped Crais up, then looked at him.  
"You ok?" he asked. Crais was still confused.  
"Crichton? Aeryn?" he asked, not believing it was them. They nodded. "What are you doing here?"  
"Talyn wanted us to save you. So we decided we'd better." Aeryn answered. "Get down!" she shouted, and Crichton pushed Crais to the ground. Aeryn fired the weapon she'd found, and the two guards were torn apart by the blast.  
"We'd better go." Crichton said. He stood up along with Crais, and all three ran down the corridor.  
  
Crichton led the way, and Aeryn and Crais followed close behind. He ran round a corner, and stopped dead in his tracks. "What?" Aeryn asked.  
"Scorpy." Crichton said. "Just my..."  
"Frell!" Aeryn said.  
"What? You can see him?" Crichton asked.  
"Yes." Scorpius answered. "Hello John. Miss me?"  
"Frell you!" Aeryn said. Then, another Scorpius stepped behind the first. Then another walked behind Crais.  
"Oh, shit!" Crichton said. About 4 Scorpius's surrounded them now. "What the frell is happening?"  
"That would be telling. Sorry." Scorpius #3 said. "But for now, you'll have to die."  
Crichton looked at all four Scorpys. "How the hell?" he asked. He looked at the other two. "Can you see all of these, as well?" he asked. They both nodded, looking at each Scorpius in turn.  
"Scorpius is one of the most feared leaders in the universe. This organization managed to find some cells and created us. There's about ten of us on this ship." Scorpius #2 answered. Crichton started laughing.  
"Oh, God!" he said. "I don't believe I'm hearing this!" He raised his pistol faster than ever before and blew Scorpius #2's head off. "Now there's nine." he said, ducking Scorpius #1's punch. He shot #1 in the side, and he flew sideways into the wall.  
Aeryn smashed #4 in the face with her weapon, then swung round and shot #3. It exploded, spraying everything with blood. Crais booted #4 in the head, and #4 rolled sideways. It got up, and ran down the corridor. Crichton fired after him, but missed. Crichton then wiped his face.  
"Ah, man. I'm covered in Scorpy gloop now." he said. "Anyway, I thought this wasn't a Peacekeeper base. What the frell is Scorpy's stunt men doing here?"  
"I don't know." Aeryn answered. "We'd better move it." They ran down the corridor.  
  
Scorpius #4 entered the room. He was clutching his side after it had been shot by Crichton. He walked over to the man sitting in the chair. "They killed the other three. I barely got away, sir." Scorpius said. The man swung his chair round to look at Scorpius.  
"They're still on the ship?" he asked. Scorpius nodded. The man held his forehead, then looked up at Scorpius again. "You disappoint me."  
"I'm sorry sir, I..." Scorpius began, but the man pulled his weapon off the desk and blasted Scorpius in the face. He was knocked backwards by the blast, and fell to the ground. The captain put the gun back on the desk.  
"I have no need for disappointments." he said, then stood up. He picked up a com and turned it on. "Find them now, and fast. I want this Crais back alive, though. Kill the others." he said, then walked out of the room.  
  
Crichton blasted another guard down the end of the corridor. "For frell's sake, how many of the bastards are there?" he shouted over the gunfire. Aeryn fired at another two.  
"A lot." she replied. Suddenly Crais fell to the ground, clutching his head and screaming. "Crais!" Aeryn shouted. She fired at another guard. Crichton ran beside Crais.  
"Crais, what's wrong?" he asked. Crais kept screaming, then his hand started to change shape. "What the hell...?" Crichton asked. Crais' hand started changing into a claw, his fingers sharpened and grew longer. "Aeryn! We got a problem!" Crichton yelled as Crais leapt up. He let out a long, inhuman scream out at them, then ran down the corridor with blinding speed.  
"Oh, frell." Aeryn said as she blasted the last guard. "Let's go find him."  
"I hate this frelling trip." Crichton murmured, and they ran after Crais.  
  
"What? Are you sure?" Chiana asked Pilot.  
"Positive." Pilot replied. "There is a peacekeeper battleship heading in their direction."  
"But not ours?" Rygel asked. "They're heading towards that other ship?"  
"Yes." Pilot confirmed.  
"Then I'm going to get Crichton and Aeryn." D'Argo said. He stepped backwards when Chiana grabbed his arm.  
"It's suicide. They can handle themselves. You'll only get yourself killed." she told him.  
"We can't leave them with two enemy groups. They won't have a chance." he answered.  
"Maybe they can." Chiana said. "The peacekeepers might be going to attack the other ship."  
"Ok." D'Argo said reluctantly. "We'll wait. Just don't get spotted by either of them ships."  
  
The captain ran into command, then walked over to the woman at the radar. "Peacekeepers?" he asked.  
"Yes, sir." She answered. "They should reach us in 20 minutes."  
"Goddammit." the captain murmured. He turned around. "Charge the weapons to full. We'll blow the bastards to the other side of the universe, and then some." Suddenly, two people ran into the room. Everyone turned around as they closed the doors. "Hey!" he shouted, and they turned around.  
"Oh, she-it!" Crichton said. "Shit shit shit!"  
"Yeah, ok. We get the picture." Aeryn said, her weapon aimed on the captain. "Where are we?"  
"Command..." the captain answered.  
"I meant what ship. Who are you?" Aeryn replied.  
"We are called Nosferatu. A secret group. I see you're a peacekeeper. How did you find us?"  
"I'm an Ex-Peacekeeper, and Crais' ship told us where you were. It's a Leviathan."  
"Interesting. You're not a peacekeeper any more?"  
"No. Me and my friends want them all destroyed, too, if that's of any interest."  
"It is. The Peacekeepers are headed this way."  
"Oh, for God's sake!" Crichton said. "Do they ever just piss off and leave us alone?"  
"What are you going to do?" Aeryn asked the captain.  
"Destroy their ships before they destroy ours." he replied.  
"Good plan." Crichton remarked. "But tell me this, why are there lots of Scorpy clones running around under your orders? Namely to kill us, by the way."  
"You infiltrated our base. You where deemed to be a threat. So, I sent our greatest defense."  
"It was a pretty poor defense if you ask me." Crichton replied. "We killed three of them. And, oh yeah, what the hell were you doing to Crais?"  
"Nothing."  
"He went berserk, grew a claw and did a freaky banshee wail at me. As far as I remember, he wasn't able to do that before. So, what the hell did you do?"  
"We... We performed tests on him."  
"Tests?"  
"We want to make a super-race, the ultimate army. Before long, your friend will become a Matisu."  
"Matisu? What the frell is a Matisu?" Aeryn asked suddenly.  
"A number of them escaped. You've seen one already, I'd have thought."  
"Yeah, we did." Crichton said. "How long 'till he's changed completely?"  
"About 20 or 25 minutes."  
"Any cure?"  
The captain hesitated. "No."  
"Great." Crichton said. He looked at Aeryn. "Now what?"  
"We get off this ship fast." she replied. The captain stepped forward.  
"That's not possible." he said.  
"Why not?" Crichton asked.  
"You'll make fine additions to the new race." Two guards walked up behind Crichton and Aeryn, and knocked them out with stun-guns. They fell to the floor.  
  
Crichton suddenly woke up, and looked around. He was in a cell. "Damn." he murmured. "Aeryn?"  
"John?" Aeryn answered from the other side of the wall. "That you?"  
"Yeah. You alright?"  
"I'm fine. You?"  
"I gotta headache, but I'll live. Gotta plan for getting out of here?"  
"Maybe. Wait." Aeryn said, then started chocking.  
"Aeryn, what's wrong?" Crichton asked. She kept chocking. "Aeryn? Aeryn? Hey! Somebody help!" he shouted. Two guards ran down the corridor.  
"What's going on?" asked the first one.  
"She's choking to death. Help her!" Crichton answered. The guard unlocked the door to Aeryn's cell and walked in. As soon as they did, Aeryn jumped up and kicked the first guard in the head. She quickly grabbed the second guard's head and twisted it, snapping his neck. She grabbed the pistol from the dead body and shot the first guard in the chest. She ran to Crichton's cell and blasted at the lock. The door opened and Crichton ran out. "Nice plan." he said.  
"It worked, as well." Aeryn replied. "Let's get out of here." Suddenly, the whole ship rocked. The force knocked Aeryn and Crichton off their feet and into a wall.  
"What the hell?" Crichton asked, trying to stand up as a second explosion rocked the ship.  
"Peacekeepers are attacking." Aeryn answered.  
"Damn. We'd better get off this ship before they destroy it." Crichton said. "Just pray we don't run into any more of those Matisu things."  
"Alright." Aeryn answered, then ran down the corridor followed by Crichton.  



	3. A Way Home

"Oh, great." Crichton said. "Now what?"  
"Well, for one thing, don't fall in." Aeryn told him as they looked down the large hole in the corridor. Below them was 5 Matisu creatures. The hole covered the entire floor.  
"You any good at long jump?" Crichton asked. Suddenly an explosion rocked the ship again. Crichton stumbled sideways and fell into the hole. "Oh, Christ!" he shouted. Aeryn grabbed his hand just in time to stop him falling down and getting mauled.  
"Hold on!" Aeryn said.  
"I'm not gonna let go, now, am I?" Crichton replied frantically. "Pull me up!" Aeryn lifted him back onto their level. "Damn!" Crichton muttered.  
"What?" Aeryn asked him, confused.  
"Dropped my gun down there." Crichton replied.  
"Don't worry. We'll find another one soon." Aeryn told him. "This hole isn't too big." She suddenly took a running jump over it and landed on the other side. Crichton watched, realizing Aeryn could jump better than him. He took a few steps back, ran forward and jumped into the air. He realized midway he wasn't going to reach the other side, but still didn't have time to reach out to grab the edge of the floor, and instead he fell to the ground next to the strange creatures. He looked to his side.  
"Oh, shit." he murmured.  
"John!" Aeryn shouted down to him. The Matisus growled at him, looking ready to attack. Suddenly one jumped in front of them all and growled back. "John, what's going on?" Aeryn asked.  
"I don't know." Crichton replied. He suddenly thought of something. "Crais?" he asked the lone Matisu. It turned around and nodded it's head up and down. "I've found Crais." he said to Aeryn. "It's ok."  
"Ok." Aeryn replied, and jumped down next to him. She looked around. "Where is he?"  
"He's there." Crichton answered, pointing at the creature in front of them. It looked back at them both, tilting it's head slightly.  
"We're too late." Aeryn stated.  
"There's gotta be an antidote." Crichton stated, hopeful that he was right.  
"You heard what that captain said?" Aeryn reminded him.  
"Shit." Crichton muttered. He looked at Crais. Crais had a look of sadness, obviously realizing he couldn't be changed back. Crichton noticed it. "I'm sorry, Crais." Crais looked at him, then turned to the others. He started making strange noises, obviously communicating to the others.  
"Any ideas?" Aeryn whispered to Crichton.  
"No." he replied, watching the behavior of the pack of Matisus. Then, Crais turned around. He gave out a small roar, then he and the other Matisus ran out of the large room, and disappeared down a corridor. Crichton looked at Aeryn. "Now I have one." he told her. She looked at him.  
"What is it?" she asked.  
"Me and you find an escape pod, or any transport, and get the frell outta here." he explained.  
"Good idea." Aeryn told him.  
"Thanks." Crichton replied, and they both ran out of the room.  
  
A soldier ran into the captain's office suddenly, startling him. "Peacekeepers have entered the ship." he stated, out of breath.  
"Goddammit..." the captain muttered. "Give them everything we've got. Make them sing for their supper." he ordered. The soldier nodded, and ran back into the corridor. The captain sat in silence for a few moments, then slammed his fist down onto his desk. He opened up a drawer to the desk and pulled out a pulse weapon. He checked to see if it was working by firing a shot at the wall. It let out a burst of energy, leaving a hole in the wall the size of a bowling ball.   
He made his way to the door to his office, when the door burst inwards, hitting his outstretched arm, and knocking the weapon out of his hand. He looked up to see Crichton punch him square in the face.  
Aeryn closed the door behind them as Crichton picked the captain up off the floor, ready to punch him again. "We want off this ship, now!" he yelled. "And you are going to help us find a way off this ship, now!" he added.  
"I can't do that." the captain replied calmly. Crichton raised his fist back slightly further, and raised his eyebrow.  
"Why not? If you're worried that you'll die if you do, then you've got nothing to lose, 'cause you'll die if you don't."  
"The captain always goes down with his ship." the captain answered.  
"This isn't the Titanic, this isn't an accidental crash! This is a..." Crichton started.  
"How do you know about the Titanic?" the captain suddenly asked, a puzzled look on his face. Crichton gave him almost the same look.  
"That's a question I'm gonna have to ask you." he stated.  
"Where I come from, there was this ship. It hit an iceberg, it sunk, lots of people died. It was a famous tale, and they made many movies about it." the captain answered. Crichton lowered his arm, and Aeryn looked at them both, realizing what this meant.  
"You're from Earth?" Crichton asked, almost speechless. The captain nodded.  
"Captain William Cruise." he told Crichton. Crichton let go of the man, and took a couple of steps back. "Now, how do you know about the Titanic?" he asked.  
"I'm from Earth as well." Crichton started to explain. "My name is Crichton. John Crichton. I was an astronaut for IASA, and piloted the Farscape One module. Unfortunately, I got sucked into a wormhole and haven't seen or heard from my old home since."  
"Crichton..." Cruise said quietly, thinking. "Rings a bell. We all thought you were dead."  
"Well, I'm alive and kicking baby." Crichton replied. "What's the story with all this then? This big ol' ship in the middle of space?"  
"We are the first people from Earth to travel into as of yet undiscovered areas of space." Cruise declared, proudly.  
"Sort of like an Enterprise type mission, then."  
"Yeah, I guess you could say that."  
"What do you do?"  
"We study. Study alien life forms, planets, stuff like that."  
"Why did you attack Talyn and Crais?" Aeryn suddenly asked him. Cruise looked over to her.  
"Who's Talyn?" he asked.  
"Crais' ship." Aeryn replied. "Our ship's son."  
"Your ship's son?" Cruise asked her, not thinking he heard her right.  
"Leviathan ships. They're alive." Crichton explained. "Now answer the lady's question."  
"We sent out squads to find specimens. At first we thought this Crais was hostile, and then we thought he was a human. We interrogated him, he denied it, so we thought we'd treat him like one of them."  
"One of what?" Crichton asked him, getting angry.  
"The aliens we find." Cruise said bluntly. His arrogance angered Aeryn, and she was ready to blast his head off with her weapon, but resisted, knowing that they needed him to escape. However, Crichton couldn't contain his anger as well as her, and punched Cruise in the face again. The captain fell onto his back, holding his now bleeding nose.  
"Get us off this ship now, then we might consider saving your ass." Crichton told him. Cruise didn't reply, and stood up. "Deal?" Crichton asked, ready to kill the first human he'd met for a long time.  
"Deal." Cruise answered reluctantly. Crichton nodded, then pushed Cruise towards the door.  
"Lead the way." he ordered.  
  
The door to Command suddenly flew off it's hinges, an explosion on the other side detaching it from it's connections. It smashed into a computer technician, killing her instantly. Everyone else was startled by the sudden attack, and turned around to see a group of ten Peacekeepers run into the room, holding pulse rifles at the humans inside. The humans raised their hands in surrender. s they did, a tall, dark figure strode into the room calmly. It looked around.  
"Where is the captain to this ship?" Scorpius asked the nearest human. He looked at him, fear gripping him tightly. He didn't answer, instead he murmured quietly. He shook slightly. Scorpius walked slowly over to him. "I'll ask you again." he stated. "Where is the captain of this ship?" The man swallowed hard.  
"I don't know..." he stammered. "Maybe in his quarters." Scorpius grinned at him, showing his pointed teeth.  
"Thank you." he said. He turned to his troops. "Take them." he ordered. The Peacekeepers suddenly grabbed everyone in the room and dragged them out of the destroyed entrance whilst Scorpius remained standing in the Command room, looking around at the fairly primitive technology. He was unimpressed.  
  
Crichton, Aeryn and Cruise turned a corridor, Cruise supposedly leading them to the escape pods. As they did, Crichton spotted two Peacekeepers start to walk around the opposite end. "Down!" he yelled at the other two, and raised his pulse pistol. Aeryn jumped at Cruise, knocking them both onto the floor as Crichton fired at the Peacekeepers. Before they realized who was attacking them, the shots punched into their chests, sending them back into the wall. They slumped to the ground, and didn't get up.  
Crichton helped Aeryn to her feet. She looked at him. "Good reflexes." she stated.  
"You too." he replied, smiling slightly. They left Cruise to get up by himself. He noticed the way they were looking at each other.  
"Look, if you two wanna get a bit more personal, then go find a room." he spat. "Just don't do it here, we're in great danger." They both looked at him.  
"You'll be in more danger if you don't shut the hell up." Crichton warned. "Now get us off this ship."  
"Alright, alright." Cruise replied, pushing past him. "You are aware of the fact that I can get you home, right?" he stated, turning to face him. Crichton was about to say something, when the words registered in his head. Aeryn saw this too, but didn't want to say anything.  
"How?" Crichton asked.  
"We get control of the ship again, and then we just set the co-ordinates back to Earth. Simple really." Cruise explained.  
"There is an army of Peacekeepers on your ship now, so regaining control is out of the question." Crichton replied, pushing him forward.  
"But won't it be worth trying? So you can get home?" Cruise kept trying to persuade Crichton, who kept pushing him forward. "To see your father?" Crichton froze. "All we need to do is regain control. We don't have to kill the Peacekeepers. They'll be dealt with on our return." Crichton looked at him for a few moments.  
"How do we take control back?" he asked. Aeryn grabbed his arm.  
"You're going along with this?" she asked him, shocked. He nodded.  
"How hard can it be?" Crichton stated, smiling in his usual way. Aeryn didn't find the situation all too amusing.  
"You're going to go home, then? Back to Earth?" Aeryn asked him. Crichton sighed slightly, then turned to Cruise. He opened the door to a small, empty room and pushed him inside.  
"Wait in there." he ordered, closing the door behind Cruise. He returned his attention to Aeryn, who's eyes had now started to glisten. She looked like she was almost crying. Crichton had rarely seen this happen. He put his arm on her shoulder. "We're going to take back control of the ship. We're going to send it back to Earth, so we can get the crew back. Then me and you are going to get on an escape pod and find Moya." Aeryn looked into his eyes, hope causing her to smile slightly.  
"But you can get home now." Aeryn stated. "The one thing you've wanted since you came aboard Moya, and now you're going to turn it away?" Crichton moved his hand down her arm and took her hand in his.  
"Getting home isn't the one thing I want." he told her, almost in a whisper. She gripped his hand tighter, but not so it hurt him.  
"What is?" she asked him, also nearly whispering. He moved forward slightly, about to kiss her.  
"You are." he said before pushing his lips against hers. She put her other arm around him, kissing him more passionately.   
A pulse rifle shot impacted the wall just inches away from the two, and they pulled out of their kiss. Crichton drew his weapon from it's holster and fired at the three Peacekeepers at the end of the hallway. Aeryn did the same, and in an instant the three soldiers dropped to the ground.  
Crichton pressed the button on the wall to let Cruise out of the room. He walked out, and looked at the new corpses. "See, we'll have no trouble getting the ship back." he stated, walking down the corridor. Crichton looked at Aeryn, but didn't say anything. Neither did she. "Hey!" Cruise called, halfway down the corridor. "We don't have all day!" he stated. Crichton and Aeryn both walked after him simultaneously.  
  
Scorpius sat in the captain's chair. He looked around him. Even though the ship wasn't very advanced, it could prove useful. He especially liked the chair, it revolved around completely. He kept spinning himself slowly, looking all around the room. He was actually enjoying himself. "Now why didn't we think of these?" he wondered aloud.  
"Scorpius," said a Peacekeeper commander, walking into the command room. Scorpius spun the chair around to face him.  
"I want every chair on my ship to be replaced with these." Scorpius stated, a slight smile on his grotesque features.  
"Scorpius, the captain to this ship is missing." the commander stated. Scorpius looked at him, his smile fading.  
"Find him." he ordered, bluntly.  
"We've also found some of our men dead." the commander added. Scorpius looked at the monitors on the walls. He focused on one in particular, which showed three people running down a corridor. Scorpius instantly recognized the two at the back.  
"Crichton..." he muttered. He looked at the commander. "Do not kill them. Bring them to me." he ordered. The commander nodded, then walked out. Scorpius looked at the monitor again. "What are the odds..." he asked himself, again starting to smile. 


End file.
